Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

7.3 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Off Alaska Coast. No Danger to California

18 hours ago

Federal Immigration Crackdown Threatens California’s Historic Housing Reforms

22 hours ago

US House Clears Procedural Hurdle on Cryptocurrency Legislation

22 hours ago

Fresno County Lifts Evacuation Order for Max Fire Near Pine Flat Lake

23 hours ago

Newsom Calls Trump a ‘Son of a B***h’ Over ICE Raids and Guard Deployment

23 hours ago

Trump Indicated to Republican Lawmakers He Will Fire Fed’s Powell, CBS Reports

1 day ago

Wall Street Steadies as Investors Assess Inflation Data, Earnings

1 day ago

Trump Administration Sued by US States for Cutting Disaster Prevention Grants

1 day ago

Open Mic Contest Offers Fans a Chance to Perform at Outside Lands 2025

1 day ago

PBS and NPR Mount Last-Ditch Fight to Save Federal Funding

2 days ago
Tweet on Spare Change Generates Big Money for Virus Aid
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
November 26, 2020

Share

SALT LAKE CITY — Andy Larsen is a sports writer, but with so many games scratched during the pandemic he has spent a lot of time digging into coronavirus data and its sobering implications.

Then on Monday, while he was sorting his spare change — some from a childhood piggy bank shaped like SpongeBob SquarePants — it struck him: Other people in Utah could use the money more than he could.

His composed a tweet to his nearly 27,000 followers, hoping to quickly find someone who could use the $165.84.

Within a minute, someone offered to essentially double his donation with a deposit into his Venmo account. Then someone else pitched in, and another. It kept snowballing as Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox retweeted it, calling the effort “very cool.”

“I figured I would help a couple families with Thanksgiving, or a family with three kids buy Christmas presents,” said the 29-year-old Larsen, who covers the NBA’s Utah Jazz for the Salt Lake Tribune. “I was shocked … within five, 10 minutes we got $1,000.”

By Wednesday, he had collected more than $52,000.

Among the first to get on board was Jeff Jones, a 54-year-old partner at a CPA firm in South Jordan.

“I was thinking, ‘We’re not having a big Thanksgiving dinner this year, I can use some of the money we would have spent to hopefully help some other people,’” he said.

Larsen Also Heard From People in Need

With the pandemic keeping people from getting together in a big way for the holiday, the online effort became a chance to conjure a sense of community, a feeling of being part of something larger.

“It felt like it took on a life of its own,” Jones said. “Man, it’s sure been fun to be a part of it.”

Larsen also heard from people in need. There was someone who got COVID-19 and couldn’t work for a month, possibly putting Christmas gifts out of reach. Another who couldn’t pay a water bill. Someone else whose neighbor didn’t have money for Thanksgiving. Most were local, several were names he recognized from Twitter.

Larsen is a numbers guy, so he built spreadsheets for donations and people in need. The effort has gotten big enough that he’ll need some legal help to make sure he’s got everything in order, but he’s planning to start giving away money in the coming days.

He’s hoping to help with bigger things too, like a down payment on a car for a parent he heard from who can’t get the kids to daycare after being in an accident.

The outpouring has been restorative for Larsen, who owes his career in part to social media but has also seen its ugly side.

“I thought I was permanently just bitter, the classic embittered journalist,” he said. “And now I’m not for a little bit. And that’s nice.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

US Seeks One-Day Sentence for Police Officer Convicted in Breonna Taylor Case

DON'T MISS

Tulare Police: We Have No Role in Federal Immigration Raids

DON'T MISS

Wall Street CEOs See Some Tariff Impact Filtering Into Customer Behavior

DON'T MISS

US House Poised to Send Stablecoin Bill to Trump After ‘Crypto Week’ Drama

DON'T MISS

Manhattan Prosecutor Who Handled Epstein Cases Is Fired

DON'T MISS

Why California Ag Is at Odds Over Converting Land to Solar Farms

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Irrigation District Pitches 137% Fee Hike for More Kings River Flood Water

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He Is Ending Government Funding California’s High-Speed Rail Project

DON'T MISS

Bakersfield Tax Return Preparer Pleads Guilty in $25 Million Fraud Scheme

DON'T MISS

Congressional Hopeful Lorenzo Rios Says No to PBS Funding. Once Led Local Station

UP NEXT

Age Is Just a Number: 80-Year-Old Conquers Death Valley to Mt. Whitney Ultramarathon

UP NEXT

Is US Democracy Threatened? Majority of Californians, Including Republicans, Say Yes

UP NEXT

US Senator Seeks Safety Reforms After Fatal Collision Between Army Helicopter, Regional Jet

UP NEXT

PBS and NPR Mount Last-Ditch Fight to Save Federal Funding

UP NEXT

Elmo’s X Account Gets Hacked, Posts Antisemitic and Racist Messages

UP NEXT

Fire at Boston-Area Senior Living Facility Kills at Least Nine

UP NEXT

Arizona Governor Wants Investigation of Federal Handling of Grand Canyon Fire

UP NEXT

Record Numbers of Americans Say Immigration Is Good for Country: Gallup Poll

UP NEXT

Skydance in Early Talks to Acquire The Free Press, NYT Reports

UP NEXT

State Department Starts Firing More Than 1,350 Workers

US House Poised to Send Stablecoin Bill to Trump After ‘Crypto Week’ Drama

1 hour ago

Manhattan Prosecutor Who Handled Epstein Cases Is Fired

1 hour ago

Why California Ag Is at Odds Over Converting Land to Solar Farms

1 hour ago

Fresno County Irrigation District Pitches 137% Fee Hike for More Kings River Flood Water

3 hours ago

Trump Says He Is Ending Government Funding California’s High-Speed Rail Project

16 hours ago

Bakersfield Tax Return Preparer Pleads Guilty in $25 Million Fraud Scheme

16 hours ago

Congressional Hopeful Lorenzo Rios Says No to PBS Funding. Once Led Local Station

16 hours ago

US Attorney Beckwith Dismissed by Trump Admin, Replaced With Sanchez

17 hours ago

Trump Says He Would Love for Fed Chair Powell to Resign

17 hours ago

Trump Says Coca-Cola Agreed to Use Real Cane Sugar in US

17 hours ago

US Seeks One-Day Sentence for Police Officer Convicted in Breonna Taylor Case

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Justice Department has asked a federal judge to sentence a former Louisville police officer who was convicted la...

6 minutes ago

Former Louisville police detective Brett Hankison poses for a booking photograph at Shelby County Detention Center in Shelbyville, Kentucky, U.S. September 23, 2020. Picture taken September 23, 2020. Shelby County Detention Center/Handout via REUTERS.
6 minutes ago

US Seeks One-Day Sentence for Police Officer Convicted in Breonna Taylor Case

15 minutes ago

Tulare Police: We Have No Role in Federal Immigration Raids

The U.S. flag is seen on a building on Wall St. in the financial district in New York, U.S., November 24, 2020. (Reuters File)
48 minutes ago

Wall Street CEOs See Some Tariff Impact Filtering Into Customer Behavior

1 hour ago

US House Poised to Send Stablecoin Bill to Trump After ‘Crypto Week’ Drama

Maurene Comey, Assistant U.S. Attorney and prosecutor on Combs' case, arrives at the Federal courthouse during the Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial at U.S. court in Manhattan, in New York City, U.S., May 21, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 hour ago

Manhattan Prosecutor Who Handled Epstein Cases Is Fired

Sheep Graze Next to Kettleman City Solar Farm
1 hour ago

Why California Ag Is at Odds Over Converting Land to Solar Farms

3 hours ago

Fresno County Irrigation District Pitches 137% Fee Hike for More Kings River Flood Water

A drone view of a California High-Speed Rail Bridge where it crosses through Fresno, California, U.S. June 8, 2025. (Reuters)
16 hours ago

Trump Says He Is Ending Government Funding California’s High-Speed Rail Project

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend